Intelligent, soft techno has hit a high point. Christian Löffler is one of the artists responsible for this, taking carefully crafted sounds, loops and beats and making tracks that in this case sound like they were recorded outdoors. This is because ‘Mare’ uses field recordings made from his studio near the Baltic Sea, and these add a depth and freshness to the recording that take it far beyond the studio. ‘Myiami’, ‘Mosaics’ and ‘’ are high points, the middle of the three with a lovely, sonorous bass sound. Several of the tracks here were made with vocalist Mohna, while Löffler himself contributes softly sung vocals, but it is in truth the instrumental tracks that reach the furthest, helped by the producer’s keen ear for texture and orchestration. This is a subtle beauty, an electronic album that captures the beauty of the natural world in its soundscapes.
Ben Hogwood
4 out of 5
CHRISTIAN LÖFFLER – MARE – KI RECORDS
